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Politics : Dutch Central Bank Sale Announcement Imminent? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Jamey who wrote (22011)	11/28/2004 11:51:13 AM
From: sea_urchin	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 81049

James > most men at middle age begin to question their purpose and direction in life Questioning one's purpose and direction is all very well but, unfortunately, most don't have the freedom or the wherewithal to do anything about it if they are not satisfied with what they find. > To continue to believe that we were created in a "soup" and live in a world that goes nowhere is pretty depressing to me. It shouldn't be. Even without a "divine" purpose, every person has an existential reason to be alive and to fulfil that life. In fact, the search for personal meaning through spiritual or religious paths is only one of the available ways. But whichever way one chooses, in the end, it is the individual who decides for himself. And not choosing is also a choice. tameri.com > Isn't it depressing to you if you really have no idea why you were created? On the contrary, I would find it very depressing to know exactly why I was on the earth -- and when I will cease to be. To accept the mystery of "creation" is part of the fun and fascination in living. > I believe we do live in a world that makes sense and my direction is clear That's wonderful. Unlike others, I don't criticize you for those views. But for me, I found the path to self-fulfilment via religion to be most disappointing and even a waste of time. Religion takes away one's freedoms and in their stead applies a set of rules which, we are told, leads one to Heaven or wherever. For me, however, I prefer to be free -- even if I have no purpose in my life which has been conferred by religious dogma. Thus I choose to be free from religion, free from government hassle, free to choose what I want to do with my money, free to marry who I wish or not to marry if that is what I want, etc etc. In fact, the Amendments to the US Constitution mention many of the freedoms I hold dear. > That makes for much satisfaction to know without doubt that I am living my "eternity" right now. I accept as day becomes night that when I am dead, I am dead. I do not need assurance that my soul lives forever, that my name is inscribed in letters of gold somewhere or that I will dwell in Heaven for eternity when I die. I can confront the certainty that when I am dead, I am. I also accept that death is part of life and that nothing which I call "mine" is, in fact, mine. Everything we have is borrowed, including the energy for life itself and, of course, every atom in our bodies. Dust to dust. Because I recognize this finite dimension of my existence, I regard every moment of my life as precious and, even if I don't do anything special, I try as hard as I can to live in each moment and not in the past or the future. At the same time, I try to make all the people round me as happy as I can because, in turn, that rubs off on me. Thus, one gains happiness by giving it and one gains love by giving that, too.